Spellbinding spiders in focus at RSPB site

There’s a chance to get close up and personal with some spellbinding spiders at RSPB Bempton Cliffs later this month.

If you’re one of those people who react to seeing a spider with an ‘uggh’, the team at Bempton Cliffs, will be doing their best over the half term to turn that reaction into an ‘ahhh’.

Spellbinding Spiders is a chance for visitors to head to the award-winning nature reserve and see these fascinating creatures in a different light.

For five days, staff and volunteers will be celebrating this eight-legged wonder.

Visitors will get the chance to see spiders under the microscope and see a spider’s heartbeat. There’ll also be the chance to help catch a spider using an electric toothbrush!

Sarah Aitken, Visitor Experience manager at Bempton Cliffs, is a spider fan extraordinaire and said: “Spiders are amazing – they really are friends rather than foes.

“They are incredibly important as they eat flies around the house and insects that may damage crops in the field.

“This isn’t as daft as it sounds. Touching a web with the vibrating bristles makes the spider think an insect has been caught and that dinner is served, so naturally it pops out from its hiding place and can then be caught.

“This harmless technique means that our visitors will get the opportunity to take a closer look at these fascinating creatures.”

The Seabird Centre will host pop-up talks, taking place at 11am and again at 3pm, giving the low-down on the reserve’s top spiders – from the fastest one to the nastiest one.